Quilon or Kollam, an old sea port town on the Arabian coast, stands on the Ashtamudi lake. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was regarded by Ibn Batuta, as one of the five ports , which he had seen in the course of his travels during a period of twenty four years, in the 14th century.
The rulers of kollam (Desinganadu) and China, exchange embassies and there was flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam.
